Victory for Ashley Holzer and Havanna 145

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“I had a great time,” she said. “I was honestly a little nervous. She’s hotter in this venue than she is normally at home. I was a little worried about the timing exactly, getting her quietly from movement to movement with inner tension going on and getting her relaxed, but it worked out.”

Holzer said that the passage and piaffe stood out to her, especially with her music that was put together by Tom Hunt.

“I felt that today her half passes in trot were much more rhythmical and uphill, and that’s a big breakthrough for her, so I was really happy with that too,” she pointed out. “The third canter pirouette wasn’t as quietly balanced as I wanted it to be, but the other pirouettes felt really, really nice. In general, I think she was a bit nervous and tense, and she still came out and performed to her best. I would say that is the most important thing for me, that I felt her really trying hard in there and giving it a little bit more power than in the past and still quite comfortable.”

Slotting behind Holzer in second place was Codi Harrison (USA) riding her own Katholt’s Bossco. They scored 75.040%, which was a personal best for them. It was even more impressive knowing that it was their first open grand prix freestyle test at a CDI.

Harrison grew along with her horse, having purchased him six years ago at Blue Hors in Denmark. They started at the young rider level and moved up to the Under 25 division. As Harrison turns 26 next year, she decided to move up again to the open grand prix.

“It’s been so fun to learn with him in the process and learn in the grand prix together,” she said of the 14-year-old Danish Warmblood stallion by Don Schufro x Michellino. “I wasn’t sure if he was going to be a big tour horse; I wasn’t sure if he’d ever do the U25. This is really exciting for me.”

Harrison, who is from Wichita, Kansas, but is based in Wellington, Fla., also had a brand-new freestyle for this show, with music by Boy de Winter and choreography she designed with Karen Pavicic. “I ran through it for the first time last week and prayed for this week,” she laughed. “It’s a little bit more difficult but nothing too crazy for our first open grand prix freestyle.”

When she saw her score come up at the conclusion of her freestyle, she was “shocked.” She added, “I wasn’t expecting that. I was thrilled. I’m really happy with him, and it’s definitely our highest score, even in a freestyle. It’s been six years of barely getting through a Prix St. Georges to now, so I’m very proud.”

Another newcomer to the open grand prix freestyle was third-place finisher Pablo Gomez Molina (ESP) riding Cristina Danguillecourt’s Ulises de Ymas. They scored 73.605% in the first-ever grand prix freestyle for the horse and the rider.

“I’m really happy with him,” said Gomez Molina. “This is our first year doing grand prix, and I cannot ask for more. I was a little bit disappointed yesterday because since our last show, he’s got much more strength. He was a little bit scared yesterday, so I was unable to show how he is. Today he was much better, more with me, and I was able to ride him more. That was the best part; I could ride him and give him trust and he was really with me.”

Gomez Molina describes Ulises de Ymas, an 11-year-old PRE gelding by Seni Indio x Superior II, as “a really introverted horse” and “really shy.” The pair have been together for six years, and Gomez Molina feels that he has built a very trusting relationship with his horse.

“It’s so nice to see him developing and to improve,” he said. “I feel like he can get much stronger and show what he really is. For me he’s always amazing but he can still get better. We can both get better.”